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8 new events join Naperville calendar for 2017

Naperville will play host to eight new special events next year to complete a calendar packed with 38 major festivals, races and fundraisers.

Two new 5Ks, a bike ride, an old-fashioned block party, a themed downtown event, a brew fest, a food truck fest and a winter holiday kickoff will join an already packed calendar, Special Events Coordinator Dawn Portner said.

A balance of timing and location will help the city host the new activities without unduly taxing roads and services, she said, although concern remains that the proximity of many festivals to downtown unfairly hassles residents who live near the historic commercial core.

Council members Paul Hinterlong, Judith Brodhead and John Krummen all encouraged the city to push new event organizers to hold their events outside of downtown whenever possible.

"I'm very much in favor of doing that to give some of our downtown residents a little more relief," Krummen said. "There's beautiful parks throughout the city, so the more we can do that the better."

Portner said many of the new activities joining the calendar of 38 special events for next year already are choosing non-downtown locations.

The Crosstown 5K, to be sponsored by Crosstown Pub on April 30, will start and finish at the bar and restaurant on Ogden Avenue on the city's northeast side.

Organizers of the Reunion Run 5K meant to bring alumni groups together on June 17 are open to routing their race in south Naperville, Portner said.

The route of the Hero in Me ride, an anti-heroin addiction fundraiser set for May 21, will start at a bike shop on Route 59 on the city's southwest side and use mainly bike paths through forest preserves in Naperville, Aurora and Woodridge, she said.

A new brew fest is considering Frontier Sports Complex in south Naperville or Nike Sports Complex north of downtown for its Sept. 30 event.

And a food truck fest to be sponsored by Naperville Ale Fest organizer Lou Dog Events is eyeing Kendall Park just north of the Metra tracks along Washington Street to be its hub on Sept. 22 and 23. Portner said the city told the company the site is too small and lacks parking, so officials will work to find a suitable spot.

New events that will take place downtown include a Hometown Holidays kickoff to begin the winter and a themed downtown business event similar to the Harry Potter blowout hosted this July to mark the release of the play script "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts I and II."

Old Naperville Days, an event similar to the 50th anniversary block party outside the Lantern Tavern and Grill last summer, also is slated to take place downtown on Aug. 20.

And of course, the big two Naperville festivals will be back in full swing, with the Exchange Club's Ribfest scheduled for June 30 through July 3 in Knoch Park and the Jaycees' Last Fling set for Sept. 1-4 on downtown streets and at the Naper Settlement.

Why officials want new events to pick south Naperville over downtown

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